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Crongton Knights was published in 2016, won the Guardian Children Fiction’s Prize that same year, was shortlisted for the YA Book Prize the following year and has become ever more relevant in the time since.
“The story is about people coming together and how we are stronger together than apart, that’s the message,” said Crongton Knights author Alex Wheatle.
The book has now been adapted by playwright Emteaz Hussain and is being brought to the stage by York-based Pilot Theatre for a national tour.
The production, which tours from February to May is being created by Pilot alongside York Theatre Royal, Belgrade Theatre Coventry and Derby Theatre. Pilot, highly regarded for the work it creates on stages for younger adult audiences, is led by artistic director Esther Richardson who will co-direct Crongton Knights with Artistic Director of Strictly Arts Theatre Company Corey Campbell.
Crongton Knights adapter Emteaz Hussain has worked with the company previously, writing the script for the national tour of Outsiders.
She said: “When Esther asked if I would consider adapting it off, I went and read it and loved it.
“Having worked with Esther before I thought ‘I can see why she thinks I can do this’. I’m glad she had faith in me to do it because I just loved the way Alex had written this world of Crongton. Even though it’s fictional, I really related to it because it’s multicultural in an intelligent and intricate way.”
Wheatle’s novel tells the story of McKay, who lives on the South Crongton estate. Since his mum died his dad has been working all hours to keep the bailiffs from the door and his older brother is always out on the streets, tempting trouble. One night he heads out on a heroic mission to retrieve a girl’s mobile phone and finds himself facing crazed ex-boyfriends, hood rats on a power trip and violent gangsters.
Hussain knew quite quickly how she wanted to write the story.
She said: “I was struck by the journey and the quest. Quite instinctively I thought that was what the play needed to be about. The book isn’t only about the quest and at no point does a character say, ‘we’re going on a quest’, but that is what happens.
“What’s great is that on the quest they learn so much about themselves and each other. The message is that you are not alone as young people because you have each other. You have to back each other up because out there you are on your own if you don’t stand together, that’s what they learn on their journey.”
As minorities, both the author of the original novel Wheatle and adapter Hussain believe there is a need for stories featuring diverse characters on our stages, in books, in the stories we tell.
Hussain said: “It’s a black writer, an Asian adapter, a multicultural cast, a director in Esther who has done a lot of work in inner cities and multicultural communities; as a creative team we are really imbued with diversity.
“Theatre can be thought of as a middle class, white, middle aged arena. I hope because of the company we have, because of Alex and because of the story itself we will attract a diverse audience. I think theatres have some work to do to bring in a younger and more multicultural audience, but there are artists and plays like this that are chipping away and trying to appeal to that audience, to bring young people in.
“We’ve got to just keep at it and keep telling these stories.”
We asked imitating the dog’s Co-Artistic Director Andrew Quick, about the thinking behind the imitating the dog production of Heart of Darkness.
Why is imitating the dog staging Heart of Darkness?
‘First of all, it’s a novel that we have often referred to when making our work. And what’s interesting about the novel is how much it has influenced other novels, and films – Apocalypse Now, for example. And the figure of Marlow, the man telling the story in Heart of Darkness, he appears in detective fiction as well. So, it’s a very important and influential novel but there are real problems with it, especially in its representation of Africa and the people who inhabit what was then called the Belgian Congo. This makes it a challenging novel but one of the ways we have approached our adaptation is to make our own struggle with Conrad’s writing a crucial part of the staging.’
What are you taking from the novel for your production?
‘It’s a period of time that we are very interested in. I think an important strand of our work has been making a series of contemporary history plays but the focus to date has been on the period around and just after World War Two. So, looking at an earlier part of British and global history has been a new development for us. We are taking some of the historical context from the original but re-imagining from our particular point of view. We take Conrad’s story of the river journey and reset it as a road journey across a devastated Europe and our Kurtz is not in the depths of the rain forest but in a bombed-out building on the edge of London. Our Marlow is not a sailor but a private detective from Kinshasa, and she’s a black woman, not a man. So, we are reversing or creating as parallel version based on Conrad’s original. We keep some of the plot and tone, but it is a radical re-imagining. And this story, which is used to create a live film which is projected above the stage action, is framed by our struggle to deal with the Conrad, a kind of witty and condensed version of our actual process – our journey into our heart of darkness, if you like, – the heart of darkness of its making.’
How is imitating the dog approaching Conrad’s novel?
‘Well, as you can tell we are not being too reverential. But we are being respectful in many ways. Look, I think I can speak for the others when I say we like much of the novel but there are real problems in how it represents the victims of the colonialism it describes. It does not give them any kind of voice. And this is a profound problem that we have to deal with. On the other hand, Conrad seems to predict much of the horror of the twentieth century and observes how Europeans tested out their version of devastating capitalism and exploitation in the colonies before turning the lessons of this exploitation on themselves in the Europe and indeed in all other part of the world. So, we are dealing with the novel in a radical way, but one that we hope engages and entertains our audiences. I mean, we tell a great story and those who know the Conrad will see how it connects and those who don’t will hopefully go to the novel, if they’re interested, to see what the connections are. But you don’t have to know the novel to enjoy the show – you’ll just have a different experience.’
Will people recognise it as an imitating the dog production?
‘Yes, I think they will. It looks amazing and tells a vibrant, exciting story that will hold your attention. And the show deals with ideas – discusses them, which is another kind of storytelling. It uses live filmmaking and uses projection, so it has our stamp on it, but I think it’s also taking us in a new and exciting direction.’
Who are imitating the dog’s audience?
‘We tour to mid-scale venues and are very aware that those audiences are very interested in the company. Because of our use of technology, we obviously appeal to a younger audience and students, but people my age – I am 58 – we are really interested in this age group as well. That’s what is exciting about middle scale touring – you can reach such a wide range of people. We want people to see our work because we feel that we have something important to say – I mean, why else would be doing it?’
Others have tried to translate Heart of Darkness to stage, film or television but not succeeded. Has imitating the dog cracked it?
‘Yes, there have been numerous attempts to adapt the novel. And many have been considered failures. So, we are aware of this history. It would be very arrogant to say we have cracked the novel because, well, it’s a very difficult novel to crack or indeed, pin down. All I can say is that I think we have been honest in our dealings with the novel and we have re-imagined it in a really exciting way. I look forward to seeing how audiences react to it.’
What’s next for imitating the dog?
‘There are two projects that we are working on – Europe After the Rain, a small-scale piece that looks at our relationship to Europe and Night of the Living Dead, based on the 1968 film, which will be a middle scale touring piece.’
Heart of Darkness tours till the 11 May
Photo by Ben Pugh
Interview by Steve Pratt
How did you get involved in adapting Graham Greene’s novel for the stage?
I was commissioned by director Esther Richardson and Pilot. Esther came to me and said she really wanted to work with me and did I know Brighton Rock? I said I knew it a bit. As I always do with an adaptation I read the book and if I love it, I do it and if I can find a way of doing it – even if it’s going to be hard – I also do it. My absolute rule for doing any work at all is that the heart lifts at the thought. I will say yes if I have time to do it. If my heart drops I won’t. I have turned down certain novel because I don’t feel any infinity with them.
How well did you know Brighton Rock?
I read the book a long time ago. I have never seen the original film but, quite by chance, had seen the latest 2010 film version with Sam Riley and Helen Mirren. I’m avoiding seeing the original 1947 film until completing the adaptation, then I am going to treat myself to watching it.
Why adapt Brighton Rock for the stage?
Because it is such a treasure chest of narrative delights. It has got everything…It’s a love story, a revenge tragedy, a small-town murder mystery, an array of small-time gangsters and a middle-aged woman who knows no fear and who will stop at nothing to do right. In the poisoned relationship between Pinkie and Rose, there is one of the best accounts ever of what it is like to be 16 and 17 years’ old in a terrible, violent, adolescence
How much collaboration was there with director Esther Richardson in shaping the adaptation?
We first talked about a framing device and whether you can update it but when I went away I thought you can’t update it. There is a very different feeling to the time when the book is set. What I had to do was find a way of making it modern and cool but that’s very much suggested not shown. After four drafts I don’t know who has had most ideas. I think it was Esther who decided that musician Hannah Peel should be part of it, which was a very good idea. The music is going to be a huge part of it. It feels like a very free collaboration. That’s the sign of a good partnership when you ask ‘did I think of that or did Esther?’.
You’ve adapted a number of novels for the stage – what is your approach?
Every one is different but sort of the same. The basic thing is you have to find a strong way of doing it. What’s different is that sometimes one has to re-write a lot and sometimes that’s just changing dialogue. Brighton Rock the novel has some very strong dialogue which has a very strong flavour. Graham Greene has done a terrific job.
Do you have a particular theatre in mind when writing?
Not a particular theatre or space. But when I am writing anything I somehow have the space of the play in my head, the landscape of the play, the dimensions of the stage and the possibilities. That’s why I love doing adaptations, turning it from a book into something actors long to invigorate. But it’s not limiting myself to a particular concrete theatre.
How will Hannah Peel’s music work in the production?
I did a version where I wrote what music it suggested to me. We played this and had a workshop and everybody gave suggestions for the music that it suggested to them. Hannah has listened to all that. It started with her and a girl drummer making music in the room which we thought is the way to go. And so we have live music. What we are aiming for is a strong period flavor but a strong cool modern approach.
What’s the difference between an original play and an adaptation?
They are all new plays. The difference is that with adaptations I get an extremely gifted co-writer who is no longer with us and who agrees with everything I say really. I refer to myself as assistant because I think my job is to provide the theatricality and make the stage the home for this particular writer’s works. They do a lot of the lovely work, they do the character and the plot. They do a lot of work for me in in a very decent way.
Brighton Rock is at York Theatre Royal from 16 Feb-3 Mar and then tours till 26 May. For tour dates visit
http://pilot-theatre.com/performance/current/brighton-rock/about-the-show
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